On reflection, There is no place like home, and it only feels so good as I have many happy memories of the trip, the foods I tried, the history I have seen and experienced, the wonderful people I met, the funny and embarrassing moments and the photos that captured some unique and awesome scenery. It is awesome to see how history has been written down through the centuries,.. and God in his wisdom has placed many people each in their own place, and country, and as for me, I am in my small corner, and have the challenge to write my [View Full Entry]

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One of the highlights for me was turkey. Turkey: A Brief History of Turkey Turkey's first known human inhabitants appeared in the Mediterranean region as early as 7500 BC and it has been ruled through the centuries by diverse cultures including the sun-worshiping Hittites, the Greeks who drove out the gentle Persians, and the Byzantines including Constantine. King Constantine divided the Roman Empire for his two sons, in the East was known as Bizantine, West , Roman. By 1453, the Ottomans under Mehmet the Conqueror had taken over Constantinople. The Ottoman Sultanate lasted till the War of Independence in 1920-22 led [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, i had good intentions to update this daily, but here i am very close to the end of the trip and best i can do is add a few photos of this lovely area, sit back with a glass of wine by the waters edge and reflect of the beauty of the area. [View Full Entry]

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the end of the holiday is at Cavtat!great location to relax. [View Full Entry]

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today is a day trip to this ancient site. the highlight was viewing the spot where the Olynpic torch is lit every two years. a chic greek fashion model or someother noteworthy and beautifyl woman takes on the role of a goddess. Origins The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece. Records indicate that they began in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD.The Games were usually held every four years, or olympiad, as the unit of time came to be known. During a celebration of the [View Full Entry]

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Florence and Venice are both charming cities and delightful. Florence is one of the best examples of a city of the Renaissance style. Florence was establshed in 59 AD as a port on the trade route on the Arno river. Florence was first called Florentia and originally founded by Julius Caesar in the 1st century BC. Located on an important road linking Rome to France, it found itself destined to fame and fortune. It became a significant trade center with powerful artists' guilds in the 13th century, trading primarily in wool and silk throughout Europe. By 1015 AD it became independent [View Full Entry]

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The tour of Italy has flown, it is a memory packed week of historic sites and history of the clever Romans dating back to the 5th Century, when it all came ot a sad end with the attacks of outsiders to the empire. Wars and interactions with the neighbouring Germanic and Balkan civilizations is reported to have resuted in a down fall of the Empire. Highlights were the Trevi fountain, Roman ruins, Chanti wines, middle age villages and gelato, pasta and pizza and the Tower of Pisa. A few history notes: the view of the valley were St Francis of Assisi [View Full Entry]

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I would have liked to have written a log daily, but travelling and being that organised is hard work, and the whole point is I am on holidays. so the best ten " loves" are as follows: 1. food : fine pizza 2. History and discovering the rich civilization 3. The beauty of some artifacts e.g. Trevi Fountain 4. The church towers and the Sistine chapel 5. Antipasta 6. Chanti wines 7. Fashion style 8. Cute design of coat hooks 9. Rivalry between artisans of yesteryear 10 . Quality music [View Full Entry]

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The next part of this story,.... Rome is just such a history buff paradise. Pompei was wonderful, a compact history lesson on life as at 79 AD, but by being in Rome and checking out all the other sites, it is like the pieces of the jigsaw fall together. The funny thing about Pompei was that the town was severely shaken by an earthquake in AD 62, and there was a massive loss of life, and then as they are getting back on their feet, 15 years later, mt Vesuvius, but it was not called that then, erupts and floods the [View Full Entry]

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Hi all, one of the drivers for this trip to Italy was to visit Pompei. I made it, taking the opportuinty to visit the historic site via an all day bus trip. I just found the tourist office to book at 5 minutes before closing time the previous afternoon. That is another story about me and maps! The day started early, at 6.15 a.m waiting for the bus, and ended back home at about 9.00 p.m. Rome traffic and Sydney traffic have a lot in common at peak hour. Rome's day time popultion doubles with people from the surrounding periphery travelling [View Full Entry]

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